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5 Essential Elements of A Good Website

Every aspect of modern life links back to the Internet, and this in turn has resulted in web users becoming more particular than ever. It takes a winning combination of elements to create a high quality site, and users are looking for not just information, but also a compelling and aesthetically pleasing format. A good website provides users with something they need, but also offers incentive for return visits. We’ve compiled a brief list of elements that we think every site should have.

1. Color Scheme in Web Design

The design of your website should establish and follow a pleasing, effective color scheme that accents your logo and content images. There are three basic types of color schemes according to the principles of color theory:

Analogous Colors are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. This type of color scheme is often found in nature, and is very pleasing to the eye if a bit passive in terms of contrast. Some examples of analogous color use would be green paired with yellow-green and yellow. See Image Below.

Complementary Colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. When paired together, they create bold contrast that might be effectively used to draw particular attention or for a call to action. Red/green, blue/orange and purple yellow are all complementary pairings. See Image Below

Monochromatic Colors are different values of a single color. These are a relatively safe choice and easy on the eyes in most cases. However, they can come across as a bit boring if overused, and don’t offer much in the way of vibrancy. See Image Below

It takes a trained eye to carefully balance the color scheme of elements in relation to one another, as this ensures that your site’s message is effectively conveyed.

What we will do when helping you choose a color scheme for your site is establish a dialog about the graded points of importance in the message you would like your site to send, and establish a visual order of operations for them utilizing the principles of color theory.

2. Consistent Theme

Your site’s layout will vary from page to page, for example, you would typically want the homepage to be more unique and eye-catching than the interior pages, but it is important to consider the overall effect of the site’s theme. A good theme should be focused, clear and obvious, and each page should refer to it by making use of the color scheme and layout consistent. Each page should also feature images and content that is relevant to its respective topic.

3. Font Use

The term “font” basically means a style of lettering. There are two different types of font, serif and sans serif. Serif fonts make use of semi-structural emphasis on the ends of strokes, and sans-serifs are presented without these additional end strokes. These styles can be paired and contrasted for effect, but matters of functionality must also be considered. For instance, the main content of websites is usually set in a sans-serif as they are clean and easier to read at smaller sizes.

It’s important when choosing a font to consider how much content will be presented, at what size, and how relevant it is in the site’s informational hierarchy. Too many fonts or different font sizes can be visually distracting, and while it may be enticing to use one of a plethora of fanciful fonts available, keep legibility and consistency your foremost goals. The use of fonts in relation to overall theme and how to use them effectively is a key portion of our web project consultations.

4. Usability

The most important people involved in the design of a great website are your clients, the end users. We make sure that our sites are easy to navigate, have minimal load time, and provide visitors with a plethora of useful resources and information. We keep usability in mind in every aspect of our work from brainstorming to design and development to follow up and site maintenance.

5. Clear Contact Information

A slick site with easy usability, a pleasing design and consistent themes will do effectively nothing if clients can’t figure out how to contact you. A good design strategically incorporates easy access to your contact info whenever and wherever possible. We make is simple for viewers to get in touch so clients won’t have to hunt to find your phone number, email address, etc.

Please contact us for more information about the design process or to set up a consultation.